Why I Wear A Helmet Camera

The thing is, this is New York. You never know what’s gonna happen. You can ride the same stretch every day at the same time. It’s gonna be different.

For example, yesterday I’m returning from an errand with Lucille and this guy pops into my radar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Sf4xEQzg4&feature=youtu.be

I’m not nervous – he is in complete control. Looks like he did a wheelie all the way up 8th Ave.

But if I weren’t wearing a helmet camera, who would believe me? I never would have caught him doing it. Nor would I have caught this (over the Summer). 

Lean in!

Or this (not unusual and soon to be illegal)...

Or most especially this:

Yes, this guy is riding with no hands and reading. As in a "book" with actual pages which require turning. Sigh...

The most important reason I wear a helmet camera is to catch bad drivers - and put them on notice. They're not hard to find.

As an aside, I just want to mention that my helmet camera also records my own riding progress. My navigating skills are much improved. Just a few months ago, I never would have dared to try weaving through this:

PS, there is no speed involved here. The worst that can happen if I tip over, is embarrassment (I know this from first hand experience). But I can handle these situations now.

Today with bike, helmet and camera, I make my way to Columbus Circle intending to ride the Loop three times – a goal L and I have been working towards. But before I get there, I run into what looks like a rather charged confrontation - I hear loud and angry commands.

Looks like a pretty intimate search...

With all the police misbehavior going on around the country, I’m glad to be a witness (they don’t notice me, because my camera looks a lot like the helmet lights cyclists wear), but there’s another reason I'm glad to be recording.

The mood in the NYPD is one of frustration at the moment because just a few days ago, the rules for carrying marijuana, which they’ve been enforcing for years now, completely changed. The very same characters they used to pull in routinely for possession, are getting away with murder (in their opinion). Ultimately they write this guy a ticket. But just in case, I’m standing by.

I ride through the Loop recording the majesty of Central Park just prior to our first snow (due tonight):

The sheer beauty of it makes you forget that every inch of this park has been planned, from the water infrastructure and the reservoir, down to the smallest shrub. What a brilliant concept.

Which doesn’t stop the usual idiocy in the traffic lane.

And other touristy annoyances (this happens a lot):

OK, he's signaling a right turn. No, wait, he's pointing out the Guggenheim. No wait - just what is he doing? I ring my bell in passing just in case, but he's deep in discussion with his partner and pays no attention.

Second time around the Loop, I fall into a conversation with a cyclist who gripes about bike lanes. "You can’t ride in traffic anymore," he says, "because now that there are bike lanes, there’s less room. People should learn to ride in traffic like we used to do." That’s a novel approach. He complements Janet - spies her threaded brakes and gears (less drag, protection from the elements)...

and hydraulic disc brakes (forgive a mother for bragging):

And I have it all on camera (yes it’s legal; he knows I’m recording)!

Third time around the Loop and I'm headed home.

Mostly I wipe my camera card every other day or so, just keeping stills of the more interesting shots. But my riding has changed as a result of “Helmut” as I call my camera (yes, I name everything). And ultimately I think it would be a safer world if we all wore cameras all the time (maybe not on our heads). Just think: you’re in conversation with someone who swears they never said that. And you have a record of them saying exactly that. You heave a sigh of relief (and self satisfaction). Justice is served. Of course if that really worked, Fox News would be off the air, but it might come in handy somewhere else.

Sometimes I’m horrified that we’ve so blithely traded the privacy which the Founding Fathers (not to mention Edward Snowden) fought so hard for us to keep - for the sake of selfies and Facebook posts. But we already know Big Brother is watching. We may as well use that technology to record the world around us. And in the meantime, while Big Brother is watching us, we can also watch back.